A platter of my life experiences..

Happy me, but others?

I could hear muffled noises, then suddenly in one go the voices became very clear. I was still feeling extremely drowsy even now. I could feel few hands handling me, cleaning me up. Suddenly there was a cold splash of water on my body.

I could hear a very, very familiar voice asking the people around me something. The people answered the person’s query in hushed tones. Something wasn’t just right. I could not exactly point out what.

Suddenly, I could hear few more voices in the room, again those voices also sounded very familiar, as if I have heard them before. They were shouting loudly, seemed angry! I didn’t understand what was going on. All of a sudden I couldn’t move my hands and legs freely. It seemed those people who were cleaning me had tied me. I wanted to be free.

Then the most wonderful thing happened. I felt a warm touch, first on my cheeks and then my entire body. Ah! that touch and smell was such a bliss. But when my cheeks touched the warm body, I could feel my cheeks getting wet. It wasn’t like the cold splash earlier!

Then I could open my eyes better, decipher things better. That warm body and touch was my mother’s. She had just given birth to me. My cheeks got wet by her tears. I was swaddled by the nurse, so I couldn’t move my limbs freely.

Later, I realized that all others from the family; my dad, my daadi, many more relatives were angry and disappointed that I was born. They were sad, unhappy on the birth of third daughter in their family. They were expecting a boy this time you see.

But I was very happy, happy to come in this world, feel my mother’s touch. While I and may be my mother were happy, everyone else was grieving.